Online Movie Maker: Animoto

Oh my, what a holiday! I found a tool online that greatly makes photo slideshows in a jiffy. Plus, I do NOT have to download anything...and they customize unique movies just for you! So how do you do it? Go to Animoto but prepare your photos and background music if you don't like their music library. If your photos are readily stored in one of the photo-hosting sites out there, then you only need a few clicks to get your movie. What a way to end 2008!

This site is such a godsend to those who have gazillions of photos and lots of free time... *****!

Here's my holidays sample :)

Online Classifieds: CebuClassifieds

Oh my! I finally found the Craiglist of Cebu. Still on its infancy stage, I feel I hit the jackpot with this site. Anyway, great deals are found here but of course, discretion with sellers is warranted. It is not as "safe" as ebay with the lack of feedback from sellers. But then again, it beats buying paper-based classifieds or googling for items.

CebuClassifieds is better than your average classified ads, IMO. I hope they improve it though so it can get really interesting for Cebuano buyers and sellers.

For today, I give CebuClassifieds ***** for its potential.

Green Living: Meralco

Still on the issue of home living, I found out that Meralco's website was consumer-friendly. On the home page, you can actually learn and calculate the number of kilowatts running in the household with their MAC. It's a calculator of some sorts that identifies your energy consumption. Surely, this is a helpful tool for new homeowners and maybe with frivolous electronically laden homes. it definitely monitors your consumption and perhaps lessen the waste of energy.

Moreover, I went over their blog on consumer tips (still a main page link) that helps out in efficient and green living. Green living should not be just a fad... it should be a way of life.

I give ***** for Meralco's website for contributing to a greener world.

Interior Decorating: Dutchboy

Since the promise of a new abode is imminent, I cannot wait to fill the home with artistic details. I know there are a bunch of sites that cater to interior decorating, but Dutchboy's site is more than just wall paint. Here you see a lot of designing ideas and color combinations. I just love how everything is prettily laid out and organized here. In fact, I am so confused over the numerous suggestions, I think I want my home to be a rainbow.

There's the gallery and more painting tips if you're into DIYs. Enough said, I am grateful that this site exists. I may, in fact, use Dutchboy to compliment my gratitude. :P

For today, Dutchboy satiated the artistic side in me... *****.

Online Videos: Sling

I don't need television sets anymore! Sling just made TV viewing comfortably accessible. We're talking about primetime shows and good-quality movies. There is no need for downloading torrents and movie files. Well, you should require a fast internet connection and a synonymously efficient computer to appreciate Sling. Just the same, we can unplug our TV sets and just let our time be the guide. Say hello to CSI, Saturday Night Live, The Office, and loads more, streaming as great-quality videos.

No more TivO, no more schedule guides, no more costly cable subscriptions. Your favorite shows, anytime and anyday at your beck and call!

Warning: videos may not be available in many regions.

Sling on beta is pretty promising. My full ***** for just making the Internet a better place.

Fun Text Editor: Flip Title

Sure, your social pages get boring with time. Spice it up by flipping your text. Fool and amaze your friends with Flip Title's editor. It's really very simple, but it's cute. It's not for everyday though.

Flip Title can get very addicting. Yet, I'm pleased that this site exists!

˙***** ǝlʇıʇ dılɟ ǝʌıƃ ı 'ʎɐpoʇ ɹoɟ

Online Guitar Lessons: Chordbook

I know, m-a-n-y websites cater to guitar enthusiasts. However, I love Chordbook's intuitiveness. If you surf on to the site, you'll get what I mean. It makes learning how to play the guitar really simple. Also, this site helps you out with those out-of-the-ordinary guitar chords. While you are busy tuning and strumming a real guitar in front of your PC, take advantage of the site's playback feature of your saved chords. Chordbook can play your composed rhythms in loops, and makes learning a new song a cinch.

Now, who needs a guitar teacher? For today, I give Chordbook *****.

Online Guitar Lessons: Guitar Tutee

Back in college, learning to play the guitar was the greatest escape from growing-up issues and academic stress. With much enthusiasm, it paved the way to a rock band and the validity that music is, indeed, food for the soul! Anyhoo, Guitar Tutee gives me an updated version of your songbook publication. Never mind that song hits and song compilations with chords. This site truly saves on paper and the worry of ever losing those favorite songs.

What makes it interesting is you can learn the chords and the rate of strumming through the embedded videos of a headless expert guitarist. Wow, pinoys are really innovative. :)

For today, Guitar Tutee rocks with *****!

Virtual Office: Zoho

Mobile productivity is the name of the game. With Zoho, you can do so much more. Bet, this will be Google's best competitor. In terms of innovativeness and services, Zoho can almost match Google's competitive streak. Office tools such as word processors, spreadsheets and presentation tools are just a few of its key features. The best features are its business apps though. And, this site does appeal to mobile workers.

No need for crummy licenses and time- and memory-consuming installers. Zoho gives you that online advantage.

Since Zoho grabbed my attention the whole afternoon, I give it *****.

Online Games: Orange Shark

Online games can be a fun escape from the usual work eye strain. Lately, I got invited to Orange Shark's social game networking site. It establishes a unique way of playing with buddies. You earn points and gain buddies. The games are simple and addictive and players can interact at the same time.

What I like about this site is its cute factor and layout...it's highly functional and conducive to gaming.

For today, I give this cute and promising gaming site ***** for sharpening my online gaming skills.

Online Music Maker: Splice

"Finally!" This was my ecstatic shout when I accessed Splice Music. One day many months ago, I stumbled upon a site that allows online music mixing and editing. You don't need downloads and sophisticated skills to make music. However, I somewhat forgot about the URL and the memory of this wondrous site got under covers.

Through some innate need to be creative, I uncovered this site through my delicious account. Then last week, I was able to do hands on some music making. It was really (reaalllllly) fantastic, and amazing!! Making music is as easy as 1-2-3.

O-kay, so I sound as a frustrated singer/songwriter. But mind you, I can make things happen with the online tools of Splice Music. It beats a boring day of nothingness. Grab a mic, do some loops and make some mixes. If you're a music lover, I AM sure you'll thank me for hinting you on this site.

For today, Splice Music hits the top charts with *****.

Photo Editor: Aviary (Phoenix)

For the past months, I have been meaning to learn and be a Photoshop expert. I love editing photos, and in my opinion, Photoshop is a tool that is a staple among photo editors. However, the lack of time to even explore the program berefts me. In the first place, getting Adobe Photoshop is one expensive investment especially when I am doing it as a pasttime. So, when I bumped into this site, every pixelating ambition of Photoshop shimmered like a fairy-tale wish coming true!

With Aviary's Phoenix, one can do those layering editing stuff as one of the web-productivity activities. Photo editing has definitely gone from amateur-esque to professional-dom (in terms of photo production). I will definitely have so much to do with Aviary's Phoenix. It may take some time to get around the new editing environment...but this site will surely be a hit in my virtual world.

For today, because this site has made a photoshop alternative legally free, *****.

Multimedia Merger: Pixelpipe

I have tons of photos, audio and video files that are taking the biggest bite on my PC memory. Storing them on discs often make me cringe since I tend to overlook/forget about these memories when stored in different media. Online virtual drives make life easier though since I do not have to worry about storing them on physical media (that eventually gets lost or destroyed). Unfortunately, I hate the uploading part and worse yet, I hate the storage limitations. Keeping multiple accounts from many sites gets confusing and not worth the effort... so I always give up and end up backing my files elsewhere.

But, lo and behold, Pixelpipe is promising to make life easier... in the multimedia department. I haven't fully tried and tested the site, but it's worth the sharing. And finally, I can sleep better at night, knowing I can back up my photos without much trouble.

For today, I give Pixelpipe ***** for bearing uploading good news.

Warm-The-Heart Recipes: Ferna

My girls love watching Giada de Laurentis preparing meals in the afternoons. Fortunately, they are smart enough not to drone in front of cartoon shows after school. It gives me inspiration though as moodiness overcome my kitchen duty. Still, another favorite pasttime is finding my fave baked goodies on the Net. I have kept Ferna's site close to my heart ever since I discovered it one Sunday five years ago. Occasional visits always make me drool...and excited. I love baking but I'm just too darn lazy.

But, my girls, they need all the foodie experiences they can get. I can see Giada in their eyes, and that makes me happy.

For today, I give Ferna's site, ***** for lighting that sleeping chef within me.

Entrepreneurial Resource: Entrepinoys

Whenever I browse books and magazines at the local bookstore, the business section never fails to entice my entrepreneurial spirit. I have always been tempted to buy business idea books just to spark the interest of starting up a small company. There are many how-to-sell books with ideas. However, I have stopped looking since I stumbled upon Entrepinoys online. The site offers more than the usual business ideas. What is interesting about this site is it is almost always updated--I cannot even keep track of my RSS feeds for this site.

One thing is for sure, though. There is no room for paper trail in my quest for business awakening. Cliche as it may sound: it takes one click of the button to answer business-related queries in the Philippine or international setting.

For today, I give Entrepinoys my bestest ***** for the inspiration and motivation.

Online Video: Watch-Movies

This month has been reel-y exciting. Full-length videos can naturally be accessed for free online. I started with Movie6 but with this newly discovered site aptly named, Watch-Movies, has made my video library wider. Like always, be forewarned that bandwidth matters with any type of streaming that you do online. And, the video quality differs from one to another. Watch and enjoy the movies that you like for free... What a catch-phrase :)

For today, because I like to be distracted from work, I give Watch-Movies: *****.

Online Word Processing: Google Docs

Google has never ceased to amaze me. I am proud to say that I'm not a Yahooligan, rather I dwell in the recesses of Google scientists. Anyway, back to business. I'm currently tinkering with Google Docs. Years ago, the interface and its usability sucked. MS Word or Thinkfree was more my (word-processing) game. But here comes the newly improved suite; you have templates here too. Additionally, you get support from different file formats like PDF and xls sheets, which is a very good thing! And I might add, you can work offline by installing the program on Google Gears.

For today's increased productivity level, I give G Docs, *****.

Online Financial Manager: Mint.edu

My wallet is constantly draining money. Personal finance management takes more than skill and having lots of moolah. I have been scouring for free financial tools, but I actually cannot find one that fits MY needs (read: free tools!). Anyway, I bumped into Mint.edu which is a segment of Mint, a popular web-based personal financing manager. If I only had a US-based dollar account, I would very much take advantage of Mint's awesome cash-in cash-out personal monitoring. Oh, well. Their blog to debt-free and budgeting freedom takes on with Mint.edu.

I still need to browse through their collection of tips and articles relating to money and purchases. Though for today, I would give Mint.edu: *****.

Online Videos: Pinoychannel

Sucker for local Philippine TV shows? I hate to deny it or announce it. Maybe, I classify myself in-between. Sometimes, I do and sometimes I don't. Enough of the rambling. TV sucks big time. Subscribing to the Filipino Channel sucks in more dollars from your pockets. Thank God for Youtube. But better yet, thank God for Pinoy Channel! You get choice-cut and fan-based (aka. popular) TV shows from all Philippine networks. And all you need is a good LCD monitor and strong bandwidth.

Actually, I rather drone online, but with this site, it gives more reason to junk my television out of the house.

For today, I give Pinoy Channel: ***** for its juicilicious Pinoy gossips.

Online Videos: Movie6

Hohum, A boring day. Watching movies definitely spices things up. I head on to this site for some streaming pleasure. usually, new titles are on the list. Quality is definitely suffered, but for the extra charge of free-ness, well, i can't complain.

Your bandwidth must be healthy and robust though as each buffering second can be excruciatingly long if you don't have faster connections. Oh well, popcorn in microwave, soda at the side, move the couch near the monitor...and i'm all set for a night fest.

i won't promise you HD-quality here... but it's better than your usual reruns on TV.

For today, I give Movie6: *****

Free Downloads: Giveaway of the Day

Whenever I feel bored and there is no sense surfing endlessly, I head on to GAOTD. This site offers free downloads of licensed programs good only for the day (duh!) The best feature though is the comment section. It can get very addicting if you spot thumbs ups and downs for a particular program. Plus, you get freeware, shareware or opensource alternatives of the download of the day. If you diligently follow the comments line, I'm sure you will get better results.

Anyway, I've been RSSing to this site and I've posted their widget on my iGoogle for almost months now. How's that for fail-safe netting of the freebie goodies. Since Monday though, their featured downloads have become really interesting. I am so sorry for my PC though since I've been downloading and installing a lot these days.

For today, I give GAOTD *****

Online Hard Drive: Box

I'm dying to get my hands on an ASUS eee. A few people are discouraging me to buy one because of the miniscule memory and lack of optical drive. I really don't care. I just want it fit my small-ish tote bag. It's not like advertising that I have a laptop. Anyways, if I want memory, I can always buy an external drive, flash drive or have a virtual drive. Tsk, tsk.

For many years, Box has securely stored my files online. although the limited memory can be daunting, I have managed to wisely select and prune my files. Very obsessive-compulsive about it. This online hard drive delivers perfectly, thank you. Sharing and collaboration? Not a problem. It keeps account members updated with its productivity tools by partnering with promising sites that offer mobile/online features. Thanks to Box, I have managed to survive a few re-formats without twitching my eyes.

For today, I give Box: ***** for sanity saved.

Online Scanner: Scanr

Like all sites featured on this blog, I obviously prefer online productivity. I abhor the downloading and installing of programs only to realize that it doesn't run or it takes a license/registration key. Well, for today, I can do mobile scanning online without lugging around my bulky scanner.

Scanr has been a reliable friend for almost 2 years. I do a lot of whiteboard instructions and I hate repeating and re-writing my outlines every week. What I do is take a picture of my whiteboard through my 2MP digicam or camphone and email it over to wb@scanr.com. An email will arrive shortly with the PDF version of my whiteboard notes. I can just email this or show through a projector what I wrote to my next class. Not bad, eh?

It doesn't end there, though. Scanr does documents too. Like, if I need to photocopy a page on a book (doc@scanr.com), have an image or business card (bc@scanr.com) on PDF format. All I need is take a picture, send the email to the site and voila.

There is a paid version wherein you won't see a scanR watermark on the final PDF forms. But the free account is better than fine for me.

For today, Scanr gets *****.

Online Animator: GIFworks

Well, I haven't really experimented with this site, but I think this is a fun way of spending time online. GIFWorks promises to let you in on some GIF images for free. Plus, you can customize your photos for a .gif effect too.

So what do you really get from GIF crap? For one, you can embed them on your blogs or sites. Second, surftime isn't boring. Third, you create your own animated logos and photos! Another thing is, you don't need to download and install anything on your computer as all of the action is done online.


For today, I give GIFWorks: *****.

Free Ebooks: Scribd

Information overload never got so addictive with Scribd. Actually, it is more than your usual ebook download area. It houses all documents uploaded and shared by account holders. All you need is a free account, of course, to be able to download the ebook or doc you like. You can have a .doc, .txt or .pdf file format versions for download. Though, not all will be applicable.

Searching for new material is not so demanding and time-consuming with Scribd. It not only is a site for information exchange, it becomes a sort of social networking with "Add Friends" feature on your profile.

For today, I give Scribd: *****

File Converter: Zamzar

Installing freeware and shareware is a hit-or-miss. It freaks me out when a program does not install properly in my PC. Zamzar is saving me this disastrous scenario. When I want to convert any (well, not all) type of file to a certain file extension, I head to Zamzar for its free online conversion tool.

You need internet connection and an email address for the site to notify that you can readily download your converted file online. Sad thing is, since this is a free account, you don't expect your email notification automatically. It depends on the site's traffic. For a fee, you get premium service of course.

Still, I love its youtube-link-conversion-to-video-file-of-your-choice feature.

For today, Zamzar gets *****.

Tips & Tricks: Lifehacker

Sure, I get information overload too. But I like it that way than have a blank brain. Anyways, I head on to Lifehacker to get more than the caffeine high. It's a portal for many (read: absolutely numerous!) tips and tricks. It goes from being technical to being a DIY's haven. Enough said, I digg the links on most of its posts.

It is displayed blog-style and you always get the freshest advice out there. Don't forget the comments too. Some of them are worth more than the actual posts. Thanks to an interactive web. Lifehacker is going to outlive your monitors!

For today, I give Lifehack: *****


NB: Of course I always rate my picks of the day 5 stars! I just love how it is seen.

Photo Editor: Picnik

I might have been a Picasso reincarnate of some sort. Tweaking of digital photos has never been easier with Picnik. There are advantages of editing photos online: (1) I don't have to worry of installing programs, (2) I can get great features for free.

It's like playing with an assortment of objects and image-editing tools with a professional streak. To be honest, I was thinking of taking formal lessons for Photoshop. But because of Picnik, I think I'd leave that program to those who have so much time in their hands. :)

Additionally, since this is a free site, you get inaccessible advanced features on the site. For the free features, I would still hang on to my free account.

For today, I give Picnik: *****

Online Hard Drive: DropBox

Although still on its beta testing, DropBox catches my full attention and deserves to be my first URL posting. DropBox carries 2GB of online storage as of this writing, and the best feature is you can access your saved files anywhere in the world, for as long as you install their program on the PC you're using.

This is a great technology especially if you us multi-PCs. You can access your files offline or online, and the files update automatically upon internet connection. No need to worry of overwriting and manually copying said files.

On the downside, whenever my net connection fluctuates, my files don't get updated immediately. In fact, when I work on a particular file saved on my DropBox folder and instantly shut down my PC after seconds of saving the file, there are bigger chances that your file will not be saved with the new changes. My advice is save your file at Dropbox folder and give at least 5 minutes to let the file update itself before you shut down your computer. Your guide that it is updated will be the "green check mark" icon on your file.

All in all, it is still a great innovation. This site lets me do away with USB drive file transfers. I don't worry about virus infections (not yet, anyways) and peripherals.


For today, I give DropBox: *****

welcome!

once in awhile, i bump into great websites with nifty features and functions.
my recommendations often are not based solely on the looks department (however, it still does count!) but i am a sucker for the website's stability and efficiency.

this blog will account all my online discoveries due to an insistent fan :P. so hope this portal gives you an idea that i do not surf aimlessly. i actually share my discoveries too.

enjoy!